| | | | 🎆 The utter absurdity of Trump's July Fourth bash 🎆 |  | | Donald Trump likes big productions. Big bashes. Ideally to honor him.
Which brings me to this tweet the President sent on Sunday:
"HOLD THE DATE! We will be having one of the biggest gatherings in the history of Washington, D.C., on July 4th. It will be called 'A Salute To America' and will be held at the Lincoln Memorial. Major fireworks display, entertainment and an address by your favorite President, me!"
It's easy, amid the near-constant norm-smashing of Trump's presidency, to overlook any one event. That's just Trump, you say, and roll your eyes.
But consider what we are talking about here: The President of the United States is planning to give a speech that, knowing him, will almost certainly be political in nature. And he is going to give it on the day in which we, as Americans, celebrate our independence.
The thing is: We already have a big celebration on the Fourth of July! In Washington! I've been. It's wonderful! The National Symphony Orchestra plays! There are fireworks!
Given that fact, it's not hard to see what Trump is doing here. He wanted a giant military parade in Washington on Veterans Day. That got postponed due to cost concerns -- and concerns that rolling tanks and other military equipment through the streets of our nation's capital might actually not be the most, uh, American thing ever.
But Trump wasn't giving up that easily -- particularly after being bowled over by the Bastille Day parade he witnessed in Paris in 2017. And so we have the planned July Fourth bash, in which Trump is likely -- as he did throughout the 2016 campaign -- to weaponize the idea of patriotism. Patriotism, in Trump's world, is supporting his policies without question. Protesting those policies, which, by the way, was how America was formed, is tantamount to rooting against our country.
The Point: Up is down. D-O-G spells "cat." This is the world that "your favorite President" has created. We're all just living in it.
-- Chris | | "I just have trouble accepting him as a person, so frankly I don't see anything he's doing right."
-- Former Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid on President Donald Trump, in an interview with CNN's Dana Bash. | | | WHAT COMES NEXT FOR PAUL MANAFORT | | About that 800-page sentencing memo filed over the weekend... CNN Russia investigation reporter Marshall Cohen tells The Point what you need to know:
Over the weekend, special counsel Robert Mueller's team filed a redacted version of its sentencing memo for Paul Manafort. They didn't recommend a specific prison term for Trump's former campaign chairman, but Manafort is 69 years old and possibly faces the rest of his life behind bars. He'll learn his fate in March, when he'll be sentenced by federal judges in Virginia and Washington, DC.
What the memo said: Prosecutors said Manafort is a "hardened" criminal who "repeatedly and brazenly violated the law," including while "under a spotlight" as chairman of Trump's campaign. They said he lied to pretty much everyone along the way: the FBI, the Justice Department, members of Congress, even his own lawyers and tax preparers. Mueller's team wants to see him in prison for a while.
What the memo didn't say: The filing was more than 800 pages long, but it didn't really feature anything new about the 2016 campaign, Manafort's connections to oligarchs or his contacts with a suspected Russian operative. Mueller didn't break any new ground on the "collusion" question, despite dropping hints about Manafort's potential role in previous court filings and hearings. | | | I will listen to ANYTHING Thom Yorke creates. I loved the soundtrack for "Suspiria" -- and now they are releasing some outtakes from it! | |  | | Today's topic: Trump's summit with Kim could cement his legacy. | | | We have another fact-checking installment from CNN's Holmes Lybrand! Today, Holmes dives into President Donald Trump's assertion this morning that his daughter Ivanka has "created millions of jobs."
Claiming Ivanka Trump generated 6.5 million jobs is ludicrous.
The President gets that 6.5 million number from the "Pledge to America's Workers," a venture Ivanka has been involved in since it started last year. So far, 200 companies have signed the pledge, which involves each company promising a certain number of training opportunities over the next five years, bringing the total number of said promised "opportunities" to 6.5 million. We're really talking about 6.5 million training opportunities, not 6.5 million new jobs. The White House described these opportunities as "apprenticeships and work-based learning, continuing education, on-the-job training, and reskilling" in a press release last summer. And many of the "opportunities" companies like Walmart pledged to were already planned or matched enrollment rates for training programs that these companies already offer. Lastly, many of the "opportunities" are for current employees -- so the idea that these are all "new jobs" is wildly inaccurate.
Have a fact you'd like to see Holmes check in The Point? Let us know! Email holmes.lybrand@cnn.com and lauren.dezenski@cnn.com. | | Bernie Sanders: Is sitting down for his CNN Town Hall tonight at 8 p.m. Eastern. Meanwhile, this weekend he sent an email to supporters condemning bullying and harassment of any kind. Sanders is also preparing to release his tax returns.
Elizabeth Warren: Has sworn off courting high-dollar donors in her presidential bid in an effort to get money out of politics, she wrote in a new Medium post. For the record, that means no dialing for dollars with phone calls or exclusive fundraisers.
Sherrod Brown: Pledges to be the most "pro-union candidate" in the 2020 field ... if he runs. | | Get your finest pastels ready.
This year's White House Easter Egg Roll will take place April 22 on the White House's South Lawn, according to first lady Melania Trump's office.
There's no word yet on which staffer will don the bunny suit. | | | | | | |
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